Jaap Stam suggests why Donny van de Beek has struggled at Manchester United

Manchester United favourite Jaap Stam believes Donny van de Beek's eagerness to attack could explain why he was overlooked for regular opportunities at Old Trafford this season.

The Dutch international finally left United on loan when he joined Everton in the January transfer window as he looked for regular playing time in the Premier League.

Van de Beek, 24, has been a peripheral figure ever since he moved to United from Ajax in September 2020 and failed to secure a regular starting role under either Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or interim manager Ralf Rangnick.

READ MORE: How Manchester United's Donny van de Beek can rise above Frank Lampard's Everton criticism

The midfielder finally got his wish of first-team football when he joined Everton at the start of the year, although his time at Goodison Park has hardly gone much better with Frank Lampard's side stuck in a fierce relegation battle.

Former United defender Stam, who worked with Van de Beek at Ajax, refuses to blame United's managers for his lack of playing time and believes he might be overlooked for being too attack-minded.

"I think for Donny, that he didn't get enough chances to show himself, because it's not only about getting one game or a couple of minutes," Stam told bettingexpert.

"No, you need several games and I'm not saying that the coach is to blame, because there's a lot of tension on the games, there's a lot of tension on the coaches.

"Of course I can understand that a coach is not saying 'yeah, but I cannot give him a couple of games to see how he does' and then risking, if he's not working out, that we might lose more games. I can understand that in a way.

"But I can also understand that you need to trust your players, you need to give confidence to